1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a latching device for releasably securing a closure member, such as a panel or door, in the closed position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Trunks of automobiles are usually provided with removable load floor panels. These panels ordinarily support the weight of objects placed in the trunks of cars and are removable to allow access to a spare tire, for example, which is commonly stored under the load floor panel. It is common for the load floor panel to be held in place by gravity and a floor mat that usually covers the load floor panel. The load floor panels are usually equipped with handles that are flush with the top surface of the load floor panel in order to allow a user to remove the panel when necessary. However, this commonly used arrangement has a draw back in that the load floor panel may become dislodged when travelling over rough roads. Further, because the panel is not positively secured in place, it may become loose and rattle around in the trunk resulting in undesirable noises. The need persists in the art for a latch to positively secure such load floor panels in place.
The present invention is directed to a latch for use with closure members such as panels, drawers, doors, etc. Although the operation of the latch will be described in the context of securing the load floor panel of the trunk of an automobile, the latch of the present invention is widely applicable to many kinds of doors, windows, panels, and drawers. The latch of the present invention releasably secures a first closure member, such as a door, window, panel, or drawer, to a second closure member, such as another door, window, panel, or drawer or a frame surrounding the first closure member. The latch of the present invention includes a housing, a handle, an actuator, a coil spring, and a pawl. The latch housing has a first depression which receives the handle when the handle is in the closed position. The first depression has an essentially enclosed bottom and an open top surrounded by a bezel or flange. The latch housing further has a receptacle attached to the enclosed bottom of the first depression. The receptacle houses the coil spring and the pawl. The handle can be in the form of a paddle or a ring to facilitate grasping of the handle by a user using three or four fingers.
The latch body is installed in an aperture in the closure member using any of several well-known fasteners. The bottom receptacle houses the pawl and spring such that the pawl can move in and out of the receptacle with the spring biasing the pawl to project out of the receptacle and toward the latched position. The actuator has fins which project through the bottom of the first depression and into the receptacle and into engagement with the pawl. The handle is pivotally supported by the housing and has actuating arms that impinge upon lateral legs of the actuator. When the latch handle is lifted out of the first depression of the housing, the actuating arms of the handle retract the actuator which in turn retracts the pawl to the unlatched position. One or more beveled surfaces, provided on the underside of the pawl, cooperate with the second closure member to slide the pawl to the unlatched position as the first closure member is slammed shut. The coil spring then moves the pawl to the latched position once the pawl clears the edge of the second closure member such that the pawl will catch under the edge of the second closure member in order to secure the first closure member in place.
Another embodiment of the invention dispenses with the actuator and the actuator arms of the handle directly engage the pawl. Thus, this additional embodiment advantageously has fewer parts.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a latch assembly which automatically engages a second closure member as a first closure member is slammed shut.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a latch having a low profile such that it does not project significantly above the surface of a panel to which the latch is mounted.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a latch assembly having a pivoting handle which pivots to retract the pawl to the unlatched position.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a latch assembly having a handle which can be used to move the panel to which the latch is attached.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.